Finnish law seeks to end smoking. With smoking on television banned since 1978, a proposed law in Finland seeks to establish the nation as entirely tobacco-free. The new measure, which is expected to easily pass in the Finnish Parliament, requires vendors to keep cigarettes under the counter and out of sight. Moreover, all tobacco products will be phased out of vending machines over the next three years. Also being prohibited is smoking in a vehicle with passengers under the age of 18 present, with outdoor smoking at public events like concerts and sports matches being similarly banned. Mr. Ismo Tuominen of the Finnish Health Ministry, who helped draft the law, noted, “This is a warning that we are trying to get rid of this business in Finland once and for all. Our issue is that no one has the right to kill people.” Finland initiated her first smoking ban in 1977 and has seen a steady decline in the percentage of smokers since then. In 1998, 25% of men between the ages of 15 and 24 smoked, which fell to 18% in 2008. For young women, the number dropped from 23 to 14% over the same period of time.
Bravo, Finland, on your commitment to providing a cleaner environment and better health for all your fortunate citizens. May many countries be encouraged by such exemplary success to implement similar measures for the benefit of people worldwide.
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